Parts handling method

ABSTRACT

A new parts handling apparatus is provided which can shorten the index time and increase working ability without increasing the number of components and can restrict the rise of manufacturing cost. X driving member 12 to be moved rightward and leftward in correlation to the rotation of a ball screw 2 by a servomotor 1 is provided with a pair of right and left movable members 7 mounted movably in the Z direction. Two contact hands 5 are attached to each movable member 7 through aligning mechanisms 8 respectively. Each movable member 7 is provided with a Z driving member 6 mounted slidably in the X direction. The Z driving member 6 is engaged with a ball screw 4, and the ball screw 4 is connected to a servomotor 3. When the ball screw 4 is rotated by the servomotor 3, the Z driving member 6 moves vertically in the figure, thereby also moving the movable member 7 vertically.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a divisional of U.S. patent application Ser. No.08/890,266, filed Jul. 9, 1997, which is incorporated herein in itsentirety by reference.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a parts handling apparatus, and moreparticularly, to a structure of an apparatus best-suited to handleelectronic parts in an electrical characteristic inspection ofintegrated circuit (IC) devices.

2. Description of the Related Art

In a conventional process of inspecting the characteristics ofintegrated circuits (ICs), an IC handler is used to sequentially placemany IC devices in an inspection position and to inspect the IC devices.The IC handler is provided with a contact hand for holding the IC deviceby suction. The contact hand repeats operations of carrying an IC devicefrom a parts supply position, supplying the IC device to an inspectionsocket located in the inspection position, taking the IC device out ofthe inspection socket at the completion of an electric characteristicinspection on the IC device, and carrying the IC device to a partsdischarge position.

In the characteristic inspection process using the IC handler, it isrequired to make an inspection on many IC devices in a short time. Here,the time, which is used to take an inspected IC device out of theinspection socket, to set the next IC device to be inspected on theinspection socket and to put outer terminals of the IC device into astable contact with the inspection socket, is called "index time". Inthe above process, it is most important to shorten the index time, andthe performance of the IC handler is evaluated by the length of theindex time thereof.

One of the most effective methods for shortening the index time is toprovide a plurality of contact hands, usually two contact hands, foraccessing one inspection position. The provision of two contact handsmakes it possible that one contact hand takes an inspected IC device outof the inspection socket and the other contact hand immediately sets anuninspected IC device on the inspection socket. Therefore, the indextime of the IC handler can be shortened.

FIG. 9 shows the schematic structure of an IC handler which shortens theindex time as mentioned above. In this IC handler, two inspectionsockets 11 are placed in an inspection position, and a parts dischargestage 33 for receiving two IC devices from the inspection sockets 11 anda parts supply stage 34 for supplying two IC devices to the inspectionsockets 11 are fixed on a shuttle 35 located on one side of theinspection sockets 11 and 11. The shuttle 35 is so structured as toreciprocate in the extending direction thereof and to put the partsdischarge stage 33 and the parts supply stage 34 into a predeterminedsupply and discharge position (IC device handling position) alternately.

Two turning arms 31, spaced at 180° about a turning shaft O, areinterposed between the inspection sockets 11 and the shuttle 35. The twoturning arms 31 turn about the vertical shaft O integrally on ahorizontal plane. Each of the turning arms 31 is provided with atransfer mechanism 32 fixed at the leading end thereof, and a contacthand 5 is mounted at the bottom end of the transfer mechanism 32 to bemovable upward and downward. The contact hand 5 can grasp two IC devicesarranged on the parts supply stage 34 at a time, and place the ICdevices on the inspection sockets while grasping. When one transfermechanism 32 at the leading end of the turning arm 31 is placed justabove the inspection position, the other transfer mechanism 32 is placedjust above the handling position on the shuttle 35. The two transfermechanisms 32 transfer IC devices from the parts supply stage 34 to theinspection sockets 11, and from the inspection sockets 11 to the partsdischarge stage 33, alternately.

In the state shown in FIG. 9, unillustrated IC devices are held by thecontact hand 5 placed just above the inspection sockets 11, and set onthe inspection sockets 11 by moving the contact hand 5 downward. On theother hand, inspected IC devices are held by the contact hand 5 placedabove the shuttle 35, and put onto the parts discharge stage 33 in thehandling position on the shuttle 35 by moving the contact hand 5downward.

Next, after the parts supply stage 34 is put into the handling positionby moving the shuttle 35, the contact hand 5 moves down, takesuninspected IC devices from the parts supply stage 34, and moves upagain. When the characteristic inspection on the IC devices set on theinspection sockets 11 is completed, the contact hand 5 grasping theinspected IC devices moves upward.

The two turning arms 31 turn through 180° in this state, and thereby,the contact hand 5 grasping the uninspected IC devices is moved abovethe inspection sockets 11 and the contact hand 5 grasping the inspectedIC devices is moved above the handling position on the shuttle 35. Atthis time, the empty parts discharge stage 33 is placed in the handlingposition on the shuttle 35.

In this IC handler, since the IC devices are supplied and dischargedalternately by the two contact hands 5 while turning the turning arms 31through 180°, the index time equals to the sum of the time taken for onecontact hand 5 to take IC devices from the inspection sockets 11, andthe turning time of the turning arms 31 and the time taken for the othercontact hand 5 to set IC devices.

However, since the IC devices are conveyed from the handling position tothe inspection position by turning the turning arms 31 in theabove-mentioned IC handler, the conveyance trail of the IC devices isshaped like an arc, and the conveyance distance is p/2 times as long asthat of the linear movement. Therefore, in order to obtain an index timeequivalent to that of the linear movement of the IC devices, theconveyance speed and acceleration required to convey the IC devices areboth increased, which needs a higher-powered drive source and a morerigid conveying mechanism. Particularly, in order to turn the transfermechanism 32 and the contact hand 5, which are provided with heavycomponents such as a driving cylinder and a motor, more swiftly, highdriving power is needed to increase the acceleration and deceleration.Therefore, it is quite difficult to achieve such swiftness while keepingthe precision of the conveyance position and the structural precision.

As another method for further shortening the index time, it is thoughtof to increase the number of turning arms as shown in FIG. 10. In thestructure shown in FIG. 10, three turning arms 36 are located about aturning shaft. Since the turning arms 36 are spaced at 120°, it seemsthat the moving distance of IC devices is decreased and thereby theindex time is shortened. However, this case requires each of the threeturning arms 36 to be provided with a transfer device 32 and a contacthand 5 at the leading end thereof, which increases the number ofcomponents of the apparatus and the weight of the moving parts, andneeds higher driving power. Therefore, it is difficult to increase theoperation speed of individual moving parts, and the manufacturing costof the IC handler increases.

Furthermore, in the IC handler shown in FIG. 10, it can be thought ofthat the inspection ability is enhanced without shortening the indextime by increasing the number of IC devices to be grasped by eachcontact hand 5 and the number of IC devices to be inspected by theinspection socket 11 at a time. However, in this method, themanufacturing cost of the contact hand 5 and the socket 11 increasesaccording to the increased number of IC devices, and the turning radiusis required to be increased by making the turning arms 36 longer inorder to prevent the interference among the contact hands 5 resultingfrom the increased length thereof in the turning direction. As a result,the moving distance of the IC devices is increased, and thereby theindex time is increased on the contrary.

OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION

It is an object of the present invention to obviate the above-mentionedproblem. It is another object of the present invention to provide a newparts handling apparatus which can shorten the index time and increaseworking ability without increasing the number of components and canthereby restrict the rise of manufacturing cost.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In accordance with an aspect of the present invention a parts handlingapparatus comprises a processing section for subjecting a part to apredetermined process, a first handling section for supplying anddischarging the part placed on one side of the processing section, asecond handling section for supplying and discharging the part placed onthe other side of the processing section, a first holding sectioncapable of moving between the processing section and the first handlingsection and holding the part, a second holding section capable of movingbetween the processing section and the second handling section andholding the part, a main driving means for making the first and secondholding sections reciprocate alternately from the first and secondhandling sections toward the processing section, a first auxiliarydriving means for moving the first holding section close to and apartfrom the processing section and the first handling section, and a secondauxiliary driving means for moving the second holding section close toand apart from the processing section and the second handling section.

Since the first handling section and the second handling section areplaced on both sides of the processing section and parts are suppliedand discharged alternately from both sides by the first holding sectionand the second holding section, the conveyance route of the parts isfreely determined and the index time can be shortened byshort-circuiting the conveyance route.

It is preferable that the main driving means reciprocate the first andsecond holding sections linearly in a first direction, and that thefirst and second auxiliary driving means reciprocate the first andsecond holding sections linearly in a second direction intersecting thefirst direction.

Moreover, since the first and second holding sections are moved linearlyclose to and apart from the processing section and the first and secondhandling sections by being moved linearly in the first direction by themain driving means between the processing section and the first andsecond handling sections, it is possible to simplify the structures ofthe main driving means and the first and second auxiliary driving meansand to reduce the manufacturing cost of the apparatus.

Furthermore, it is preferable in this case that the first auxiliarydriving means have a first connecting member for engaging the firstholding section therewith movably in the first direction and holding thefirst holding section in the second direction, and a first drive sourcefixed to move the first connecting member in the second direction, andthat the second auxiliary driving means have a second connecting meansfor engaging the second holding section therewith movably in the firstdirection and holding the second holding section in the second directionand a second drive source fixed to move the second connecting member inthe second direction.

Although the first and second auxiliary driving means respectively movethe first and second holding sections by moving the first and secondconnecting members by means of the first and second drive sources, sincethe first and second connecting members are movable in the firstdirection, the first and second auxiliary driving means do not obstructthe movement made by the main driving means and the driving load of themain driving means can be reduced. Therefore, it is easy to increase thedriving speed of the first and second holding sections and to maintaindriving accuracy.

Furthermore, it is preferable that a period of movement of the first andsecond holding sections in the first direction through the main drivingmeans and a period of movement of the first and second holding sectionsin the second direction through the first and second auxiliary drivingmeans overlap at least partially.

In this case, particularly, it is effective in shortening the index timeto set the moving route of the first and second holding sectionslinearly as short as possible to a degree where there is no interferencewith peripheral mechanisms. Although the moving route is set to belinear, it is more preferable to set the moving route smoothly inaccordance with the acceleration and deceleration characteristics of themain driving means and the first and second auxiliary driving means.

According to this means, since the period of movement made by the maindriving means and the period of movement made by the first and secondauxiliary driving means overlap, it is possible to optimize the movingroute of the first and second holding sections, and to further shortenthe index time by changing the setting of the moving route.

Additionally, it is preferable that the main driving means be a singledriving system so structured as to move the first and second holdingsections in the same direction at the same speed.

Since the first and second holding sections are moved by a singledriving system in the same direction at the same speed, it is possibleto simplify the structure of the driving system and to reduce themanufacturing cost of the apparatus.

As the main driving means, separate drive sources or driving members maycontrol the first and second holding sections respectively.

Other objects and attainments together with a fuller understanding ofthe invention will become apparent and appreciated by referring to thefollowing description and claims taken in conjunction with theaccompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

In the drawings wherein like reference symbols refer to like parts.

FIG. 1 is a schematic perspective view showing a first operation stateof a main structure of a parts handling apparatus according to anembodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a schematic perspective view showing a second operation stateof the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a schematic perspective view showing a third operation stateof the present invention;

FIG. 4 is a schematic perspective view showing a fourth operation stateof the present invention;

FIG. 5 is a timing diagram showing operations of various members of thepresent invention;

FIG. 6 is a view explaining movements of a pair of contact hands of thepresent invention;

FIG. 7 is a graph showing operation states of X, Z1-axis and Z2-axisdriving systems of the present invention;

FIGS. 8A and 8B are partially enlarged cross-sectional views showing thestructure of the contact hand of the present invention;

FIG. 9 is a schematic perspective view showing the structure of aconventional IC handler; and

FIG. 10 is a schematic perspective view showing the structure of anotherconventional IC handler.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

An embodiment of the present invention will be next described withreference to the accompanying drawings. FIGS. 1 to 4 show a mainmechanism of a parts handling apparatus according to the embodiment ofthe present invention, and illustrate a series of operation steps of theapparatus in order.

In this embodiment, a servomotor 1 fixed on a frame 10 rotates a ballscrew 2 extending in the rightward and leftward direction in the figure(referred to as "X direction" hereinafter). Two guide rails 10aextending in the X direction are fixed on frame 10. An X driving member12 is mounted movably in the X direction on guide rails 10a, and engagedwith ball screw 2 to be moved in the X direction in correlation to therotation of ball screw 2.

X driving member 12 is provided with a pair of right and left movablemembers 7 which are movable in the vertical direction in the figure(referred to as "Z direction" hereinafter). Movable members 7 are eachprovided with two contact hands 5 as holding members through respectivealigning mechanisms 8. Each of contact hands 5 has a suction mechanismfor holding an IC device by suction, which will be described later, anda mechanism for pressing outer terminals of the IC device against aninspection socket which will be also described later. Aligning mechanism8 is a well-known mechanism for fitting the position of contact hand 5for the inspection socket, a parts supply stage and a parts dischargestage.

Z driving members 6 are respectively mounted slidably in the X directionon the movable members 7, and engaged with ball screws 4 which arerespectively connected to servomotors 3 fixed on frame 10. When ballscrew 4 is rotated by servomotor 3, Z driving member 6 moves up anddown, thereby moving movable member 7 up and down.

In the following description, a mechanism consisting of movable member7, Z driving member 6, ball screw 4 and servomotor 3 on the left side isreferred to as a Z1-axis driving system, and a mechanism consisting ofmovable member 7, Z driving member 6, ball screw 4 and servomotor 3 onthe right side is referred to as a Z2-axis driving system. A mechanismconsisting of X driving member 12, ball screw 2 and servomotor 1 isreferred to as an X-axis driving system.

Two inspection sockets 11 are placed as a processing section at thecenter below the above mechanisms, and each are provided with aninspection pad corresponding to outer terminals of an IC device. Whenthe outer terminals of the IC device are brought into contact with theinspection pad of inspection socket 11, the inspection on the electricalcharacteristics of the IC device is performed.

On the other hand, shuttles 21 and 22 are placed on the left and rightsides of inspection sockets 11 (in the X direction) to reciprocate inthe forward and backward directions in the figure. Inspection sockets 11are positioned just at the midpoint between shuttles 21 and 22. A partssupply stage 23 and a parts discharge stage 24 are fixed on each ofshuttles 21 and 22. Parts supply stage 23 and parts discharge stage 24can each hold two IC devices corresponding to two contact hands 5mounted on movable member 7. Parts supply stage 23 holds two uninspectedIC devices, and supplies the IC devices to contact hands 5, and partsdischarge stage 24 receives inspected IC devices from contact hands 5,and discharges the IC devices.

The above Z1-axis driving system transfers IC devices between theshuttle 21 and the inspection sockets 11, and the Z2-axis driving systemtransfers IC devices between the shuttle 22 and the inspection sockets11. When X driving member 12 moves in the X direction, and, for example,the Z1-axis driving system moves from shuttle 21 to inspection sockets11, and the Z2-axis driving system moves from the inspection sockets 11to the shuttle 22. Although not illustrated, a loading robot forsupplying IC devices to parts supply stage 23 and an unloading robot fortaking IC devices out of parts discharge stage 24 are respectivelyplaced in front of and behind shuttles 21 and 22.

In the above inspection apparatus, the following operations areperformed. First, as shown in FIG. 1, Z1-axis contact hands 5 press twoIC devices against inspection sockets 11 to make inspection. At thistime, Z2-axis contact hands 5 are standing by above a handling positionpreset on shuttle 22 while holding two uninspected IC devices taken outof the parts supply stage 23. On the other hand, empty part dischargestage 24 is already standing by at a handling position on the shuttle21.

Next, when the inspection on the IC devices at the inspection sockets 11is completed, Z1-axis servomotor 3 is put into operation, Z drivingmember 6 is lifted in correlation to the rotation of ball screw 4, andZ1-axis contact hands 5 pull the inspected IC devices up from inspectionsockets 11. Then, servomotor 1 is put into operation, and the X drivingmember 12 starts to move leftward in correlation to rotation of the ballscrew 2. When X driving member 12 moves, contact hands 5 in both the Z1and Z2 axis driving systems move together in the leftward direction inthe figure. In a short time, Z1-axis contact hands 5 arrive above thehandling position on the shuttle 21, and Z2-axis contact hands 5 arriveabove the inspection sockets 11.

Then, Z2-axis servomotor 3 is put into operation, Z driving member 6 ismoved down in correlation to the rotation of ball screw 4, and Z2-axiscontact hands 5 press the uninspected IC devices against the respectiveinspection sockets as shown in FIG. 2. On the other hand, Z1-axiscontact hands 5 also move down and transfer the inspected IC devicesonto parts discharge stage 24.

As shown in FIG. 3, while inspection is being made on the IC devicespressed against the inspection sockets 11 by Z2-axis contact hands 5,shuttle 21 moves backward to move parts discharge stage 24 backward andpositions parts supply stage 23 to the handling position. On the otherhand, shuttle 22 moves forward and positions parts discharge stage 24 tothe handling position.

When the inspection on the IC devices is completed, Z2-axis contacthands 5 move up above the handling position on shuttle 22 as shown inFIG. 4, and, on the other hand, Z1-axis contact hands 5 press andcontact uninspected IC devices with inspection sockets 11. Z2-axiscontact hands 5 move down and transfer the IC devices to parts dischargestage 24.

This apparatus repeats the above-mentioned operations shown in FIGS. 1to 4, and the Z1-axis and Z2-axis driving systems operate to alternatelysupply IC devices to inspection sockets 11. FIG. 5 is a timing diagramshowing the above operations and the operations of the loading robot andthe unloading robot. IC device receiving operations performed at thesections are indicated by projections and IC device transferringoperations performed at the sections are indicated by recesses in thediagram. Although two lines respectively representing the positions ofparts supply stage 23 and parts discharge stage 24 are drawn at shuttle21, the lower line indicates the stage in the handling position.Similarly, although two lines respectively representing the positions ofparts supply stage 23 and parts discharge stage 24 are drawn at shuttle22, the upper line indicates the stage in the handling position.Furthermore, in an index unit, the upper solid line indicates theoperation of Z1-axis driving system and the lower solid line indicatesthe operation of Z2-axis driving system. An inspection period in thefigure refers to a period in which IC devices are inspected atinspection sockets 11.

The loading robot repeats operations of transferring uninspected ICdevices onto parts supply stage 23 on shuttle 21, two at a time,sequentially receiving two new IC devices from a parts supply tray orthe like where IC devices are arranged, transferring the IC devices ontoparts supply stage 23 on shuttle 22, two at a time, and sequentiallyreceiving two IC devices again from the parts supply tray or the like.

On shuttle 21, parts supply stage 23 receives two uninspected IC devicesfrom the loading robot, parts discharge stage 24 receives inspected ICdevices from the Z1-axis contact hands 5, parts supply stage 23 moves tothe handling position, and then, the IC devices held by parts supplystage 23 are transferred to the Z1-axis contact hands 5. At the sametime, the inspected IC devices held by parts discharge stage 24 aretaken out by the unloading robot.

In the index unit, the positions and operations of Z1-axis and Z2-axiscontact hands 5 are shown. In the same manner as above, Z1-axis contacthands 5 press and fix IC devices on inspection sockets 11 forinspection, and move toward shuttle 21 at the completion of inspection.At this time, Z2-axis contact hands 5 transfer the inspected IC devicesonto parts discharge stage 24 on shuttle 22, receive new IC devices fromthe parts supply stage 23, and move toward the inspection position.After that, Z2-axis contact hands 5 transfer the inspected IC devicesonto parts discharge stage 24 on shuttle 22. On the other hand, Z1-axiscontact hands 5 transfer the inspected IC devices onto parts dischargestage 24 on shuttle 21, and Z2-axis contact hands 5 press the IC devicesagainst inspection sockets 11 for inspection.

Shuttle 22 repeats just the same operations as those of shuttle 21. Theunloading robot receives inspected IC devices two by two from partsdischarge stages 24 on shuttles 21 and 22, and then, sequentially putsthe IC devices into a predetermined position on an unillustratedinspected parts tray.

FIG. 6 illustrates the operations of Z1-axis and Z2-axis contact hands5. Each Z1-axis contact hand 5 reciprocates between shuttle 21 andinspection socket 11, and each Z2-axis contact hand 5 reciprocatesbetween shuttle 22 and inspection socket 11. FIG. 6 shows a case inwhich Z1-axis contact hand 5 conveys an inspected IC device from theinspection socket 11 to parts discharge stage 24 on shuttle 21 (partsdischarge operation) and Z2-axis contact hand 5 conveys an uninspectedIC device from parts supply stage 23 on shuttle 22 (parts supplyoperation). The Z1-axis parts supply operation and the Z2-axis partsdischarge operation are performed symmetrically with the Z2-axis partssupply operation and the Z1-axis parts discharge operation.

First, the most basic operation mode will be described. In this mode, inorder to shorten the index time, while Z1-axis contact hand 5 ispressing the IC device under inspection at the inspection socket 11,Z2-axis contact hand 5 takes an uninspected IC device out of partssupply stage 23 on shuttle 22, Z driving member 6 is moved up, andcontact hand 5 is set to stand by at a standby point P set at apredetermined height from parts supply stage 23.

Next, when the inspection at inspection socket 11 is completed, Z1-axiscontact hand 5 moves upward through a takeout point S, and reaches acenter point Q above the inspection socket 11 as indicated by analternate long and short dashed line in the figure. Then, Z1-axiscontact hand and Z2-axis contact hand are both moved leftwardhorizontally along the alternate long and short dashed line by moving Xdriving member 12 leftward. Z1-axis contact hand 5 reaches a standbypoint R, and Z2-axis contact hand 5 reaches the center point Q. Afterthat, Z2-axis contact hand 5 is moved down vertically from the centerpoint Q together with the Z driving member 6, and pressed againstinspection socket 11. As mentioned above, in this basic operation mode,the time, during which Z1-axis contact hand 5 reaches the center point Qfrom the inspection socket 11 and the Z2-axis contact hand reaches theinspection socket 11 from the standby point P through the center pointQ, is taken as index time.

However, in such an operation mode, the moving route of the contact handis wasteful as indicated by the alternate long and short dashed line,and the index time is not yet sufficiently reduced. In order to savelifting time from inspection socket 11 to the center point Q, theoperation periods of X driving member 12 and Z driving member 6 arecorrected, so that X driving member 12 is moved to the standby point Rmoment Z1-axis contact hand 5 reaches the takeout point S set aboveinspection socket 11, and Z2-axis contact hand 5 is moved from thestandby point P to the takeout point S. Routes are schematically shownby a dotted line in the figure.

In this case, the takeout point S is set as low as possible to a degreewhere the contact hand 5 can move in the horizontal direction withoutinterfering with the mechanisms on the periphery of inspection socket11. The lower the takeout point S is, the shorter the index time is.

When Z1-axis contact hand 5 moves up from inspection sockets 11 togetherwith Z driving member 6 and reaches the takeout point S, X drivingmember 12 starts to move leftward. The mutually parallel upward movementof Z driving member 6 and leftward movement of X driving member 12 allowthe contact hand to move toward the standby point R along a routedenoted by U1 in FIG. 6. On the other hand, when Z driving member 6starts to move downward almost simultaneously with the start of movementof the X driving member 12, Z2-axis contact hand 5 is thereby movedtoward the takeout point S along a route denoted by U2 in FIG. 6.

When Z1-axis contact hand 5 reaches the standby point R, Z2-axis contacthand 5 reaches the takeout point S. After that, Z2-axis Z driving member6 moves down and sets an IC device onto inspection socket 11. In thiscase, the index time is the time during which Z1-axis contact hand 5moves from the inspection position to the takeout point S and Z2-axiscontact hand 5 reaches the takeout point S from the standby point P andthen reaches inspection sockets 11 from the takeout point S.

Since the moving time from the standby point P to the takeout point S isdetermined by the moving time of X driving member 12 which has a longmoving distance, it is almost equal to the moving time from the standbypoint P to the center point Q. On the contrary, the moving time ofZ1-axis contact hand 5 from the inspection position to the center pointQ is longer than the moving time from the inspection position to thetakeout point S, and the moving time of Z2-axis contact hand 5 from thecenter point Q to the inspection position is longer than the moving timefrom the takeout point S to the inspection position. Therefore, thisoperation mode of moving the contact hands by way of the takeout point Smakes it possible to shorten the index time.

In a case in which the difference in moving distance between X drivingmember 12 and Z driving member 6 is small, or in a case in which themoving distance of Z driving member 6 is longer than that of X drivingmember 12, in order to shorten the index time, it is preferable to setthe standby points P and R as low as possible to a degree where thecontact hands 5 are not disturbed by the mechanisms on the periphery ofshuttle 22. In this case, if the standby point P is set to such a lowposition that the movement of the X driving member 12 causes the movingtrack of the contact hand 5 to be disturbed by the mechanisms on theperiphery of shuttle 22, movement of Z driving member 6 may be startedlater than that of X driving member 12 to some degree so that contacthand 5 starts to descent in the Z direction from a corrected point Thorizontal to the standby point P.

In order to realize a moving track of the contact hand shown by thesolid line in FIG. 6, another operation mode is adopted. In thisoperation mode, as shown in FIG. 7, the leftward movement of X drivingmember 12 and the downward movement of the Z2-axis driving system arestarted almost simultaneously at the time when Z1-axis driving systemstarts upward movement and Z1-axis contact hand 5 reaches the takeoutpoint S, the upward movement of the Z1-axis driving system and themovement of the X driving member are stopped almost simultaneously, andthen, the Z2-axis driving system is moved downward until an IC deviceheld by the contact hand is pressed against inspection socket 11. Bythus setting the periods of the X-direction movement and the Z-directionmovement so that they overlap with each other, the index time can beshortened without varying accelerations and maximum speeds of theX-direction and Z-direction driving systems. In this embodiment, theindex time is shortened by more than about 30% compared to that of theoperation mode shown by the alternate long and short dashed line in FIG.6.

FIGS. 8A and 8B are cross-sectional views showing the structure of amain part of the contact hand 5 in this embodiment. Contact hand 5 ismounted so that the angle thereof is changeable and the center positionthereof is adjustable within a predetermined range with respect toaligning mechanism 8. As shown in FIG. 8A, a positioning plate 50 isdisposed horizontally at the bottom end of contact hand 5, and a mainbody 51 attached to aligning mechanism 8 is mounted on the upper surfaceof positioning plate 50. A plurality of guide holes 50a are formed onthe periphery of positioning plate 50. When contact hand 5 comes closeto the inspection socket 11, parts supply stage 23 or parts dischargestage 24, guide holes 50a are fitted on guide pins 60 formed on theupper surface of inspection socket 11, parts supply stage 23 or partsdischarge stage 24, thereby positioning contact hand 5 accurately.

On the lower surface of positioning plate 50, a presser member 52 madeof synthetic resin and provided with a presser surface 52a for pressingouter terminals 61a of an IC device 61 against an unillustratedinspection pad of inspection socket 11 is mounted so as to projectdownward. A holding frame 53 for holding the position of IC device 61 isplaced inside presser member 52. Contact hand 5 is provided with acenter through hole inside thereof in which a guide block 54 is fittedmovably up and down. A suction head 55 made of synthetic rubber ismounted on guide block 54.

An elastic member 56 formed of a coil spring or the like is housed onguide block 54 to urge guide block 54 downward. The center through holeformed inside the contact hand 5 is connected to an exhaust device whichis not illustrated, and the IC device 61 is held by suction head 55.

When no load is imposed from outside before the IC device 61 is held bysuction, suction head 55 and IC device 61 are pressed down by elasticmember 56 in a state shown in FIG. 8A.

On the other hand, when the IC device 61 is held with suction by suctionhead 55, since there is negative pressure inside the center through holeof the 35 contact hand 5, a package of IC device 61 is positioned incontact with the holding frame 53 as shown in FIG. 8B, and the outerterminals 61a of the IC device 61 are brought into contact with thepresser surface 52a of the presser member 52.

In this state shown in FIG. 8B, IC device 61 is handled in a preciseposition, and outer terminals 61a of IC device 61 are pressed againstthe inspection socket 11 precisely and reliably.

According to this embodiment, since shuttles 21 and 22 are placed on theright and left sides of inspection socket 11, uninspected IC devices areconveyed from parts supply stages 23 of shuttles 21 and 22 towardinspection sockets 11, and inspected IC devices are withdrawn onto theparts discharge stage 24, IC devices can be supplied to the inspectionposition by the right and left contact hands alternately, and a freelinear transfer route can be taken. Therefore, the index time can beshortened relatively easily without increasing the manufacturing cost.

In this embodiment, particularly, since two contact hands are moved inthe X direction by the drive of a single X driving member, a singledriving system having a single drive source and a single drivingmechanism works sufficiently, which makes it possible to simplify theapparatus structure and to reduce the manufacturing cost.

In this embodiment, since movable member 7, aligning mechanisms 8 andcontact hands 5 are only supported by the X driving member 12 and Z-axisdriving systems each consisting of servomotor 3, ball screw 4 and Zdriving member 6 are supported by frame 10, the weight load on theX-axis driving system can be reduced. This enhances acceleration anddeceleration performance and driving accuracy of the X-axis drivingsystem. Therefore, it is possible to speed up the operation and furthershorten the index time without changing the driving ability.

Although the inspection apparatus for making an electrical inspection onIC devices is described in the above embodiment, the present inventioncan be applied not only to such an inspection apparatus, but also toparts handling apparatuses used in various types of working machines andassembling machines.

Furthermore, although two contact hands are operated by a single X-axisdriving system in the above embodiment, separately controlled drivingsystems may be provided for the respective contact hands. In this case,the two contact hands may be moved in the horizontal direction atdifferent speeds and timings in order to further shorten the index time.

As mentioned above, the present invention has the following advantages.

Since the first handling section and the second handling section areplaced on both sides of the processing section and parts are suppliedand discharged alternately from both sides by the first holding sectionand the second holding section, the conveyance route of the parts isfreely determined and the index time can be shortened byshort-circuiting the conveyance route.

Additionally, since the first and second holding sections are movedlinearly close to and apart from the processing section and the firstand second handling sections by being moved linearly in the firstdirection by the main driving means between the processing section andthe first and second handling sections, it is possible to simplify thestructures of the main driving means and the first and second auxiliarydriving means and to reduce the manufacturing cost of the apparatus.

Although the first and second auxiliary driving means respectively movethe first and second holding sections by moving the first and secondconnecting members by means of the first and second drive sources, sincethe first and second connecting members are movable in the firstdirection, the first and second auxiliary driving means do not obstructthe movement made by the main driving means and the driving load of themain driving means can be reduced. Therefore, it is easy to increase thedriving speed of the first and second holding sections and to maintaindriving accuracy.

Since the period of movement made by the main driving means and theperiod of movement made by the first and second auxiliary driving meansoverlap, it is possible to optimize the moving route of the first andsecond holding sections, and to further shorten the index time bychanging the setting of the moving route.

Since the first and second holding sections are moved by a singledriving system in the same direction at the same speed, it is possibleto simplify the structure of the driving system and to reduce themanufacturing cost of the apparatus.

While the invention has been described in conjunction with severalspecific embodiments, it is evident to those skilled in the art thatmany further alternatives, modifications and variations will be apparentin light of the foregoing description. Thus, the invention describedherein is intended to embrace all such alternatives, modifications,applications and variations as may fall within the spirit and scope ofthe appended claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method for subjecting a part to a predeterminedprocess on a processing section comprising the steps of:(a) supplying afirst part placed at a first handling section located at a first side ofthe processing section; (b) subjecting a second part to thepredetermined process at the processing section; (c) after step (b),moving the second part from the processing section to a second handlingsection located at a second side of said processing section; (d)contemporaneously with step (c) moving the first part from the firsthandling section to the processing section; (e) after step (d),subjecting the first part to the predetermined process at the processingsection; (f) after step (c), discharging the second part at the secondhandling section; (g) after step (f), supplying a third part at thesecond handling section; (h) after step (g), moving the third part fromthe second handling section to the processing section; (i)contemporaneously with step (h), moving the first part from theprocessing section to the first handling section; (j) after step (h),subjecting the third part to the predetermined process at the processingsection; and (k) after step (i), discharging the first part at the firsthandling section.
 2. A method according to claim 1, further comprisingthe steps of:(l) repeating steps(a)-(k) a predetermined number of times.3. A method according to claim 1,wherein in step (a), the first part isplaced at a first handling section by movement parallel to a first axis,wherein in step (f), the second part is discharged at the secondhandling section by movement parallel the first axis, wherein in step(c), the second part is moved parallel to a second axis and a thirdaxis, wherein in step (d) the first part is moved parallel to the secondaxis and the third axis, wherein the first axis is orthogonal to thesecond axis, wherein the second axis is orthogonal to the third axis,and wherein the first axis is orthogonal to the third axis.